Hermes Agent + xCloud

Back up and stage sites with Hermes Agent on xCloud

Backing up and staging sites with Hermes Agent means messaging an always-on agent from your chat app or terminal to check backup state, start a backup before a change and open a staging copy of a Git site on xCloud, and letting it audit your backups while you are away.

Skill: xcloud:sites
Toolsets: sites
Free with every xCloud account

Set up Hermes Agent All Hermes Agent guides

YouBack up the n8n app now, I am about to upgrade it.

sites_docker_backupsread-only

Agentn8n is a Docker app. The last backup was three days ago and completed. A backup stops the app for a moment while I capture its volumes. Starting now.

sites_docker_backup

AgentBackup completed and n8n is running again. Go ahead with the upgrade.

Last updated: October 2026. Keep a human in the loop: xCloud stops and asks before anything that creates, deploys, updates, reboots, deletes or buys.

Setup

How Do You Set Up Hermes Agent to Back up and stage sites on xCloud?

Connect Hermes Agent once; every job on this account uses the same connection. Then ask in plain words.

1
Add the xCloud MCP server
Add this under mcp_servers in ~/.hermes/config.yaml. If the file already has an mcp_servers block, add only the xcloud entry. Then start a new Hermes session, or run /reload-mcp in the one that is open.
YAML
```
mcp_servers:
  xcloud:
    url: "https://app.xcloud.host/mcp"
    auth: oauth
```
2
Authorize xCloud
On first connect Hermes prints an authorize URL and waits for the sign-in. Run this command to start it yourself or to re-authorize later. On the xCloud approval screen tick the teams and choose Read-only or Full access. Hermes caches the tokens in ~/.hermes/mcp-tokens/xcloud.json and reuses them on later runs.
Terminal
```
hermes mcp login xcloud
```
3
No browser? Use an API key
For a server with no browser, create a token with the mcp:invoke scope plus the read abilities for the areas it will use (read:servers and read:sites, with read:billing and read:addons for billing and add-on tools) and the matching write: abilities if it should change things in Settings, Developers, API Tokens and send it as a header in place of auth: oauth. Keep ~/.hermes/config.yaml out of version control when it holds a token.
YAML
```
mcp_servers:
  xcloud:
    url: "https://app.xcloud.host/mcp"
    headers:
      Authorization: "Bearer YOUR_TOKEN"
```
✓
Check it worked
Then ask Hermes Agent for the job itself, for example:
Prompt
```
Back up the n8n app now, I am about to upgrade it. Tell me here when it is done.
```

In practice

How Does Backups and staging Work from Hermes Agent?

Hermes Agent runs on a machine you keep switched on, and you reach it through the gateway from Telegram, Slack, Discord, WhatsApp or Signal as well as from a terminal. That changes when backups happen. You are rarely at a desk when a client calls to say they are about to import a product feed, so you message Hermes instead: back up the shop site and tell me when it is finished. Hermes calls xCloud, restates which site it matched, reads whether it is a native site or a Docker app and starts the backup without an approval prompt. The reply lands in the same chat after the agent has followed the backup to completed or failed, so the message you get is a result and not a promise.

Memory is the other thing this client brings. Hermes keeps what you told it across sessions, so you can say once that the n8n app on the Frankfurt server is busy between nine and noon and that production sites live on that server. Later requests lean on that: before it stops a Docker app to capture its volumes, it can remind you of the busy window you gave it. The scheduler adds the audit. A hermes cron job can read the backup settings and status of every site each morning and message you the ones with no schedule or a failed last run. Keep that job to reads. A job authorized with Read-only access can look at the state but cannot start a backup, which is the right limit for something nobody is watching.

Staging works from chat too, with one pause. Ask for a staging environment of the API site from a branch and Hermes asks you to approve it in the conversation before xCloud creates anything, then sends back the staging URL. It needs a paid plan, and on the free plan the agent tells you it is a plan limit. Restores are different: no agent can start one, so when you say restore last night's backup, Hermes lists the backups, names the newest completed one and replies with the dashboard path, Site, Site Backup, Previous Backups, Restore.

Hermes Agent specific: Scheduled runs use the tokens Hermes cached in ~/.hermes/mcp-tokens/xcloud.json, so authorize xCloud once with hermes mcp login xcloud before you create the audit job, and run it again if scheduled runs stop seeing xCloud. Hermes also reads mcp_servers only when a session starts, so after editing config.yaml start a new session or send /reload-mcp before you ask for a backup from chat.

What xCloud does for backups and staging

xCloud lets the agent read every site's backup state, start a backup on demand for native and Docker sites, and create a staging environment for Git sites. Restores, storage providers and WordPress staging stay in the dashboard, and the agent tells you the exact path when you ask for one.

Find the site. The agent resolves the site by name or domain, restates which one it is about to act on, and reads whether it is a native site or a Docker app, because the two use different backup operations.
Read the protection state. It reads the backup settings, status, count and recent backups. That answers whether the site has a schedule, when the last backup ran, whether it succeeded and where it is stored, before anything is changed.
Back up now. A backup starts without an approval prompt. A native site takes a local backup by default or a remote one when a storage provider is connected. A Docker app is stopped briefly while its volumes are captured, so the agent says so before it backs up a production app.
Wait for the result. xCloud queues the backup and returns straight away. The agent follows the backup task or row until it is terminal, then reports completed or failed instead of treating the queued response as done.
Stage the change. For a Git site such as Laravel, Node.js, custom PHP or Lovable, the agent creates a staging environment from the branch you name, after you approve, and gives you its URL. A WordPress staging site is a dashboard step, and the agent gives you the path.
Hand off restores and settings. If you ask to restore a backup, change a native site's schedule or add a storage provider, the agent explains that these are dashboard-only and gives the path and the site's dashboard link. It never improvises a workaround.

Reference

Backups and staging Settings and Limits on xCloud

The facts Hermes Agent works within when it backs up and stage sites. Where a row names the dashboard, that step stays yours to take there.

Setting or limit	What applies
Native site backup	On demand through the API; the type is local (the default) or remote. A remote backup needs a storage provider with a working connection, otherwise xCloud refuses it with a 422 before anything is queued
Docker app backup	On demand through the API for Compose deploys and most one-click apps. The app is cold-stopped for a moment while volumes are captured. A remote copy goes to an S3-compatible or SFTP provider; Google Drive and pCloud are not supported for Docker apps
Reading backups	Backup list, count, status and settings are readable for every site. Docker apps also expose one backup's detail
Docker backup housekeeping	The agent can label a Docker backup with a note and delete one. Deleting is irreversible, so it names the exact backup by date and note first
Native schedule and retention	Read-only through the API. Change them in the dashboard under Site > Site Backup > Backup Settings
Docker backup settings	Writable through the API: automatic backup on or off, daily, weekly or monthly frequency, and the number of days to keep backups
Restores	Dashboard-only for every site type: Site > Site Backup > Previous Backups > Restore. A backup can also be restored to another site from the same page
Storage providers	Dashboard-only, under Integrations > Storage Provider. Backup settings return a provider's identifier and status, never its credentials
Team-wide backup policy	Applying one backup policy to many sites is dashboard-only, under Global Settings > Site Backup
Git staging	Created through the API for Git sites on paid plans. On the free plan xCloud answers 403 because it is a plan limit, not a permission
WordPress staging	Dashboard-only: xCloud answers 422 when the API is asked for it. Push and pull between staging and production also happen in the dashboard
Snapshots	Snapshots are listed per site. The server-wide snapshot list holds site snapshots, not a server image. Taking or restoring a snapshot, and a whole-server provider backup, stay in the dashboard

Rules Hermes Agent has to follow

A backup runs without an approval prompt, but the agent says when it briefly stops a Docker app and does not trigger one on a busy production app without telling you.
A queued backup is not a finished backup: the agent reports completed or failed only after it has read the result.
Restoring a backup, changing a native site's schedule, adding a storage provider and creating WordPress staging are dashboard steps; the agent gives you the path instead of guessing an operation.
Creating a staging environment stops for your approval, and deleting a backup names the exact backup first.
Before you push staging data to production in the dashboard, take a backup of the production site so you can recover if the push goes wrong.

Example prompts

What Can You Ask Hermes Agent to Do for Backups and staging?

Type these as written and swap in your own repository, site and server names. Reads and routine actions such as backups, cache purges, PageSpeed scans and vulnerability scans run straight away; creating, deploying, updating, rebooting, deleting, buying or starting a broken-link scan stops and asks first.

Prompt

Back up the n8n app now, I am about to upgrade it. Tell me here when it is done.

Prompt

Every morning at 8, check the backup status of all my sites and message me any with no schedule or a failed last backup. Change nothing.

Prompt

Create a staging environment for the api site from the feature/checkout branch and send me the URL when it is ready.

Prompt

When was the last backup of the shop site, did it succeed, and where is it stored?

Prompt

Check the backup settings on every site and list the ones with no schedule.

Prompt

Take a backup of the n8n Docker app now, before I upgrade it, and tell me when it is done.

Prompt

Switch the n8n Docker app to a daily backup and keep backups for 14 days. Show me the change before you apply it.

Prompt

Create a staging environment for the API site from the feature/checkout branch and give me its URL.

Prompt

List the snapshots of the shop site and tell me which is newest.

Prompt

I need to restore the shop site to last night's backup. Tell me where to click.

Hermes Agent and Backups and staging: Frequently Asked Questions

What people ask before they let Hermes Agent back up and stage sites through xCloud.

Can Hermes Agent check my backups every morning and message me?

Yes. Create a hermes cron job whose prompt reads the backup settings and status of every site and reports the ones with no schedule or a failed last backup. Authorize xCloud with Read-only access for that job, so it can report but cannot start a backup.

Will Hermes Agent remember which sites are busy before it backs one up?

It can, if you tell it. Hermes keeps memory across sessions, so a note that a Docker app is busy at certain hours is still there next week. The agent still says that a Docker backup stops the app briefly, and the decision to run it stays with you.

Can an AI agent restore a backup for me?

No. Restoring a native or Docker backup is a dashboard step, under Site > Site Backup > Previous Backups > Restore. The agent can list the backups, tell you which one is newest and completed, and give you the site's dashboard link so you can start the restore yourself.

Does the agent ask before it takes a backup?

No. A backup is a routine action, so xCloud runs it without a confirmation prompt. For a Docker app the agent tells you first that the app stops briefly while its data is captured, and it reports the result only after the backup has finished.

Can the agent change my backup schedule?

For Docker apps, yes: it can turn automatic backups on or off, set daily, weekly or monthly, and set how many days backups are kept. For native sites the schedule, retention and destination are read-only through the API, so you change them in the dashboard under Site > Site Backup > Backup Settings.

Can the agent connect my S3 bucket or other storage?

No. Storage providers are added in the dashboard, under Integrations > Storage Provider, so credentials never pass through a chat. Once a provider exists, the agent can read which one a site's backup settings point at and use it for a remote backup.

Can the agent create a staging site for WordPress?

Not through the API. xCloud answers 422 for WordPress staging, so you create it in the dashboard from the site overview. For Laravel, Node.js, custom PHP and Lovable sites the agent can create a staging environment, which needs a paid plan.

Other agents